Are you in control of your mind? Our discussion will look at equipping you with a variety of information on the topic of video games and addiction, so that you can form an educated opinion on this recently fired up debate.
Outline
1. Gaming disorder and addiction
WHO definition
How would it get diagnosed?
2. General examples and activity in this area
Fortnite example
Recent debates and controversy
Legal and Government intervention
3. Specific example – loot boxes
Definition
Debates on its correlation to gambling
Battlefront 2 example
Regulatory intervention
Preparation
Feel free to watch this video as an introduction to some of the themes that will be covered in our discussion. Come equipped with opinions on this recent classification by the WHO, the implications it brings about, and any stories you may want to share.
Please note: As this topic could get personal, when sharing your opinion in class, do so respectfully, with your fellow classmates/the audience in mind.
Jon has mentioned the SCC Pentalogy on copyright a few times in class. If anyone would like a quick summary of the five cases, Osgoode has put together a really useful summary of all of them.
Following up on last weeks discussion regarding openness of technology, where I mentioned that the first ever mechanical time keeping device was built for a Chinese emperor but was kept secret, arguably slowing down human progress for hundreds of years until the mechanical clock was reinvented in Europe in the 14th century, this came in from former student in the class Ryan Vogt: ”
Last Wednesday, you mentioned the Chinese clock having been invented long before the European clock, and you were looking for a source. I don’t have a specific source, but I may have some names that could help you track it down…
Su Song designed a large clocktower (~1092). It kept time using a mechanism based on the flow of water, invented earlier by Buddhist monk Yi Xing (~725). When Su Song presented the design of his clock to Emperor Zhezong, he equated the continuous flow of water running the clock to the continuous movement of the heavens, which represented the unending power of the Emperor (appeasing the Emperor). The clocktower was dismantled by an invading Jurchen army (~1127), and it was never successfully reconstructed. Later, Jesuit explorers who came to China believed, based on their observations, that China had never advanced much beyond the sundial.
You may have read about this clocktower in historian Joseph Needham’s works, as he is famous for having studied the history of Chinese clocks.”
How does our regulation of rights in the real world compare to our regulation of rights in video games? What can game creators do to fill the in-game legal void – and what are the consequences if they fail?
Issues Covered
Below are the sub-topics our presentation will consider, as well as some focusing questions.
The regulation of electronic property as compared to physical property
What are the tangible (or intangible) differences between electronic and physical property?
What is the legal difference between purchasing a digital copy of a game, compared to buying it as a disc?
In-game trading and virtual theft
What are the rights of a game owner when it comes to real-world trading? Can you sell products obtained in-game for real-world money?
What property rights do virtual goods attract, and how can the law account for virtual theft?
How the law can address virtual sexual assault
What role should (or could) the law play in addressing sexual assault perpetrated virtually? What obstacles to regulation might arise?
What other approaches can game designers take to protect their players?
The law’s role in regulating real-world crimes (against a person) in a virtual world
Can defamation exist in video games and virtual realities?
How can the law address issues of defamation in video games?
On Tuesday September 25, 2018, I was privileged to give a talk which navigated the legal corrolories to the technological path from video-game mods through advanced VR all the way to completely personalized worlds powered by advanced artificial intelligence. It’s a long and winding road that ends with raising questions regarding how Rule of Law principles might themselves be transformed at some point in in the future.
If you are interested, video and slides can be found below.
Check out theVideos of Interest to Law 423 on YouTube 
Communications Law
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